English Essays for High School Students. A Summary

Index

1) My First Day at College

2) My Last Day at College

3) My Aim in life

4) A Road Accident

5) My Favorite Personality

6) My Hobby

7) Village Life

8) City Life

9) Uses and Abuses of Science

10) Life in a College Hostel

11) Visit to a Historical Place

12) Reading Books is a true source of knowledge

My Aim in Life

“An ambition if reached or not makes great the life.” Robert Browning

Aristotle maintains that man is a beast of desire. His life becomes meaningful only when his eyes has a goal set before him. Many people fail in life because they fail to organize their energies and focus on something else. People like nails lose their effectiveness when they lose their direction and begin to bend.

“We are not here to play, to dream, to drift, We have hard work to do and loads to lift, Shun not the struggle, it’s God’s gift.”

Life is a valley of thorns. Here and there lay roses. But to reach the roses we have to endure calamities and catastrophes at every step. It is often said that life is a struggle. To make our life worth living, we need to make strenuous efforts. But if we don’t have a channel to direct our efforts, they’ll be futile.

“When a man doesn’t know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”

It is where ambition comes into the picture.

Webster defines ambition as “A strong derives for success and a cherished desire.” Ambition provides direction to our energies. It strengthens and emboldens us. It gives us stimulus to work and act. Our abilities increase manifold and our emotions gain momentum. It urges us to head towards our destiny.

“The entire world is a stage and all men and women are merely players.” Shakespeare

Aims differ according to tastes, choices and inclinations of the people. So man should choose his aim wisely or else he might experience utter failure.

“An unaimed arrow misses the mark.”

My ambitions wavered all through my childhood. But as I grew up I found my true passion. I unearthed the subject that pulled the strings of my heart. I stumbled upon profound love for English Creative Writing. Heeding to my passion, I aspire to become a novelist.

“We write to live life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”

People often mistakes profession for ambition. These are two different terms. A profession is a job which may or may not hold a person’s interest but pays for his living. On the other hand, an ambition is the most cherished desire of a man that brings him the novel sentiment of joy.

“No one can tell your story so tell it yourself. No one can write your story so write it yourself.”

When I express my desire to become a novelist, I receive many a criticism from my fellows. They all revolve about the fact that money makes the mare go. Whereas I believe in the power of a smile.

“True alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change world into words.”

I want to write not for the sake of fame. But because I want to express the depth of my heart. I want my words to touch the heart of a person out there in the world. I want people to laugh with my laugh and cry with my cry. I desire to achieve a level of proficiency where I look at the paper and the words start flowing.

“I want to write but more than that. I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart.” Anne Frank

Words are an ephemeral escape to my own little fantasy. I live in a world beyond reality. I create life and I devise its way. I mimic an umpteenth ounce of Godly power. When I write, I own my creations. I relish something far beyond an ordinary man when I put lives into my letters. I witness my words grow into fantasies and those fantasies end as utopias. I experience every sentiment that my characters go through. I live their lives. I die with them.

‘A reader dies a thousand times. A man, who doesn’t read, dies once.”

My ambitions has its roots in my childhood. When other kids used to play, I would be bent over a paper. That silly little obsession became a passion. It expanded my mind. It urged me to explore myself. Writing pleases me because it gives me a channel to truly become who I am. I write stories of different characters but all of those characters have one thing in common; my feelings and my thoughts. My emotions are largely expressed in my work.

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his minds is written largely in his works.” Virginia Woolf

What’s truly amazing about writing is its magic. Creating something that has never existed before is as close as human beings get to miracles. Every word is magic; every story is a new universe. I create those universes and I get to explore them. Creating new universes help me understand the world I reside in.

“I write my way into another universe.

Writing is a noble ambition. When God created the world, He firstly created a pen. That day writing of truth began. Books are still the most common source of passing on knowledge. Through a book, a writer connects to the world and gives it’s a new outlook. A book is a mirror to the writer’s soul.

“Writing is the poetry of the voice and the song of the soul.”

I realize that my ambition may not provide me a sumptuous livelihood. I realize that most of my work will be ignored. I will be criticized. I will stay past midnight to correct a plot mistake. I’ll wake up for hours trying to infuse life into a character. I’ll spend days endeavoring to finish up my work. But I also realize that at the end of it when ill wake up one morning and look back, I’ll smile and say, “Life well spent.”

“No one can write your story so write it yourself. No one can tell your story so tell it yourself.”

To culminate it all, I would day that my ambition is to a writer. I would say that my ambition is to sit down at my desk and spend infinity bringing my truest desires to life on paper.

“Everyone has a story to tell. But only a few are dauntless enough to put it into words and fully expose their souls. They are called writers.”

City Life

“The great city is that which has the greatest man or woman. If it be a few rugged huts, it is still the greatest city in the whole world.” Walt Whitman

What is a city? One would say that a place that is industrially developed and provides advanced educational, health-care and vocational services is called a city. And from the first glance, the picture is indeed this pretty.

“A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.” Aristotle

City Life is often praised and envied. People living in rural areas admire those who live in cities. Indeed city life has its charms. From an education approach, cities offer high-end schools, colleges and universities. The people living in the cities have a much easier access to education that those in rural areas. Moreover in cities, educational activities like book clubs, book sales, and literature gardens are also organized to urge the people to adopt education.

“What is a city but its people? True, the people are the city.”

The cities also provide hospitals and clinics that are furnished with not only state-of-the-art medical equipment but also intelligent doctors. People prefer to practice medicine in the cities because city hospitals keep their doctors well-paid and the environment is mild in technicalities. Moreover all kinds of experts are just around the corner in case of emergency.

“These sky-kissing skyscrapers, these bewildering marvels of technology are the grace of a city.”

The cities are also equipped with efficient sewage system. Clean water is supplied to all houses. Municipal Committee insures regular cleaning of the streets. In case of rain, the water is drained instead of pooling on the streets.

“Cities show the extent of human evolution.”

All of the houses in the cities are endowed with electricity and gas. The uniform supply is carefully maintained. There are many recreational centers in big cities as well. Public parks, zoos, museums, historical places and shopping malls are salient features of a big city. These places offer jobs to uneducated people as well. So the rate of unemployment nosedives. City is the favorable place for industries and large scale enterprises. Mills and plants for various kinds of productions not only supply local product to the masses but also present opportunities of employment.

“All great art is born of the metropolis.” Ezra Pound

But all that glitters is not gold. The picture has a hideous side as well. Cities proffer thousands of opportunities of education. But despite this, the city is crammed with under-developed patches of area where the children are deprived of education. The major reason is the discrimination between rich and poor. The schools of the opulent are equipped with the latest and best learning technologies. These schools pay the teachers heartily so the able teachers are swept away by them. The schools of the poor are left with tattered rags, incapable teaching staff and old-fashioned books.

“Today city is the most vulnerable social structure ever conceived by man.”

Life in a city is hurried and rushed. In the hustle and bustle of the city, people lose themselves. They adopt a mechanical lifestyle that consists of waking up, going to work, eating and sleeping. Due to the luxuries at hand, people treat themselves to unnecessary extravagance. The people in city often lose their compassion along the rat-race.

“Cities force growth and make people talkative and entertaining, but they also make them artificial.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Selfishness is a common trait in the people of a big city. There is no co-operation and sincerity among the people. The great rush at recreational areas serves the thieves and abductors their desires on a silver plate. The crime rate of cities is through the roof. Moreover the traffic is in excess in the cities. The exhaust from the automobiles has polluted the air to dangerous extents.

“A city is a large community where people are lonesome together.” Herbert Prochnow

Machines work incessantly in the mills and factories. People cannot sleep at night because of din and noise of these machines. Nothing pure is available. Everything is adulterated. The charms of the city lead to exodus from rural areas. Due to over-population people are forced to live in slums and ghettos. They fall prey to fatal diseases in those under-developed areas.

“When the city burned down, we ran to the forest and promised not to build again.”

All in all, when we compare the merits and demerits of life in a city, we find the merits outweighing the demerits. Despite the lack of compassion and the mechanical lives of city people, the opportunities that the city offers are undeniable. However, the demerits do present a huge black spot on the otherwise perfect picture. The authorities should take precautionary measures to improve the condition of the cities.

“It’s your home. Every day is your day to make your home even better.”

Village Life

“The sun doesn’t forget the village just because it’s small.”

Village is a small area of land with hut and houses scattered around. From an industrial point of view, a village is generally regarded as the under-developed area of the country. But there is another approach to villages as well. Village can be seen as a place of retreat and reinvigoration.

“Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.”

Life in a village has different merits and demerits. If we consider the merits first, then the first and foremost comes the natural habitat. Village is close to nature. It is a part of nature. The scene that particularly defines a village is the extensive stretch of lush green fields. There are multiple fruit gardens, vegetable fields and flower patches that embellish a village. The fields are irrigated by a canal system. The canals flowing through the stretches of emerald land present a breathtaking view especially early in the morning.

“All nature seems to bespeak the words of God.”

A village is the heart of a country. Despite what the industrialists believe, it is the village which is responsible of pumping sustenance through the veins of a country. The village is the place which devotes its blood and sweat to the service of the country. The strenuous villagers labor through their lives. They sow the seeds, and nourish them with ample water and sweat. They bring up their plants like a careful parent. Then when they are ripe, they spend all their energies into harvesting them. The women, the children, the young and the old all participate in this task. Their labour unifies them.

“The village is the cell of the national body and the cell-life must be happy and developed for the national body to be happy and developed.” Sri Aurobindo

The people of a village are simple minded, extremely meticulous and hospitable. Their lives revolve about their little town. They serve their community through their labour and feed the nation with tremendous assiduousness. They live in houses made of mud. The walls of their houses are short as are the wall between their hearts. The entire village is a family. Everyone knows everyone unlike the everyman for himself formula that runs a city. They share each other’s pains and relish in one another’s joys. They are willing take drastic measures to protect their village. It’s their life and they give it their everything.

“The best thing about living in a small village is that when you don’t know what is going on in your own life, someone in the village usually does.”

The villagers have a great sense of morality and respect for their elders. The elders of the village are usually the leaders of village. Whatever they say; goes. None dares defy them. The people devote their lives in service of their elders. All the criminal cases are headed by the elders instead of the police. They make the decisions for the welfare of their people and their village.

“Monoculture wants you to forget that the joy of life is in the community of village.”

The village is a piece of paradise. When man is exhausted by the rat-race of the city, he retreats to a village. The charming nature takes him in its lap and gives rebirth to the purity within him. Everything in the village is pure. The food, the air as well as the hearts of the people. A village displays the essence of humanity.

“The beauty of nature is the nature of beauty.”

Although it is a patch of heaven, the village faces many accusations. The top one being their backwardness and refusal to adapt to the growing trends. The people in the village believe that they are only born for farming and thus don’t feel the need for education. This might seem alright because farming is indeed what a village is mainly responsible for. But since they are unlettered, they are unaware of the blessings of science. They only know traditional labour. But the growing population can’t be fed with slow production. The unwillingness of the village people to adopt modernism presents many problems in this regard.

“In our time, the curse is illiteracy.”

Moreover the people in the village lead their lives by superstitious belief and backward ideas. Their thoughts are clouded by baseless fears. They believe almost anything if you add the word supernatural with it. They have firm faith in magic and voodoo. These practices take their illiteracy to a whole different level of ignorance.

“Every uneducated person is a caricature of himself.”

Another trouble the villages face is the lack of health-care services. Doctors and nurses are rare in villages. Quacks are rather excessive in villages. Due to the lack of medical equipment and personnel, death due to child-birth and viral diseases is still sky-high. The privilege of electricity and gas is still unavailable in some villages. Despite it being the Golden era of civilization, the still toil like beasts of burden.

“Being stuck in the past is like walking forward with your back facing the front. You’ll always miss out on what is in the front.”

Thus village life has its merits and demerits. But when we review them, the merits outweigh the demerits. Although village life is like going way back in time, we go back to simpler and unassuming times. That simplicity and peace surpasses the luxuries of modernism. However, the demerits do present a huge black spot on the otherwise perfect picture. The authorities should take precautionary measures to improve the condition of the villages. Because if the heart gets ill, the rest of the body stops functioning.

“It’s your home. Every day is your day to make your home even better.”

Uses and Abuses of Science

“The whole of science is nothing but the refinement of everyday thinking.” Albert Einstein

Science has been defined as a systematized body of knowledge. It is neither good nor bad in itself. It is the use of science that makes it good or bad. Man may use it for his welfare as well as for warfare. It is a blessing in peace and curse in war.

“Science is the poetry of reality.”

Science is a great boon to mankind. By applying science man has become the master of nature. Man is no longer a slave to his surroundings. He has conquered time and space. The pulse of the entire world is under his fingers now. He commands the nature and it obeys. Man has risen from his status of a simple-minded organism to the master of all beings. He has thus attained his rightful title, “The Crown of all beings.”

“Society lives by faith and develops by science.”

Science has brought about the greatest revolution in the history of mankind. The greatest invention of science is considered to be the wheel. An incredibly simple machine laid the foundation of science. And today the same wheel has evolved to such an extent that it enables us to travel thousands of miles in mere hours. Science has helped us to develop modern modes of travel that has shrunken the distances to mere minutes and seconds. Man no longer faces the toil of travel due to inventions like the car, airplane and ships etc.

“The important thing is to never stop questioning.” Albert Einstein

Science has shrunken another great expanse of time and space. That innovation begun with the telephone that simply transported our voices to far off place and evolved to computers that allow us to even look at each other during our communication. This is blessing of science is what truly shrunk the distances. Today everyone is connected even when miles apart.

“Everything is theoretically impossible until it’s done.” Robert H. Heinlein

In the past, man was slave to the will of nature. Harsh winter froze him one day and scorching heat burnt his skin another day. But today man control the environment just enough to comfort himself. During summers, air conditioners and fans etc sooth him while during winters, heaters comfort his fragile soul.

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”

The use of scientific method has made possible for mankind to find out the real cause of the diseases that once used to sweep away millions at a time. This cause helped him to figure out the cure. Pasteur discovered germs and Lord Lister killed them. The discovery of Penicillin revolutionized the medical field. Today man has vaccination to protect him from imminent diseases. He even learnt to transplant body organs. These findings has increased the lifespan of man for about thirty additional years.

“Scientists are the true driving force of civilization.”

But probably the greatest miracle of science was created by Thomas Edison. The man who gave us electricity. The miraculous invention that now controls our every activity. If electricity were to disappear, man would be rendered utterly useless in today’s world.

“Science is organized knowledge.”

Man, today, enjoys more comforts and luxuries than ever before. He has a much higher standard of living. Better irrigation facilities, improved farming tools, hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers etc. have increased the agricultural yield multifarious times. After hard work, man needs healthy recreation. Science has provided radio, cinema, television etc. for his entertainment. Due to the invention and spread of printing press, education has also successfully- reached the common man. Internet has connected the world as a global village. Information is in man’s palm owing to it.

“Give a man a truth and he will think for a day. Teach a man to reason and he will think for a lifetime.”

But like every coin, the coin of science is two-faced as well. Science may adorned our lives with thousands of luxuries but it has also brought it to the brink of destruction.

“Science is simply a word we use as a method for organizing our curiosities.” Bernard Shaw

Science is curiosity. In his curiosity, man discovered atom. But it wasn’t enough for him so he fissured it and created the deadliest weapon of them all; the hydrogen bomb. Today the world is swindling between peace and war. And not just any kind of war at that. A nuclear war. The kind which will obliterate mankind from the face of the world.

“Science has made us gods before we were even worthy of being men.”

Modernization of everyday life is a blessing of science. But it also created great troubles for him. The efficient machines have not replaced human beings and rendered them jobless. Industrialization has given rise to competition, unemployment and capitalism. No job means no money. No money means poverty. And poverty leads to curses like famines, plagues and hatred.

“Science never solves a problem without creating ten others.”

Another thing science has killed is spiritualism. The number of atheists is growing by the day. People refuse to believe in God as science considers the existence of God illogical. To man anything that cannot be proved in a laboratory is a baseless superstition. The lack of spiritualism has created a void in the hearts of men. A void that was once filled with compassion and belief. Thus science has converted man into a moral pigmy.

“Religion will never understand science and science will never give a damn about religion.”

Thus if we gaze at the overall concept of scientific revolution, we find the world a much better place owing to it. However science is simply man’s puppet. He can either use it for his benefit or his annihilation.

“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.” Paulo Coelho

Life in a College Hostel

“Good times come and go but the memories last forever.”

A college hostel is an eager boon to those whose homes are far away. College is the place of learning and enlightenment whereas hostel is a place of its fulfillment. That is why hostel is regarded as an integral part of a college. A student who has not stayed at a hostel is, indeed, deprived of a valuable part of experience. Hostel life is the most pleasurable period of a student’s life and is a world in itself. It leaves a deep impression and memories which remain alive and haunt till the last moment of man’s life.

“We didn’t realize we were making memories. We were just having fun.”

Beside college, hostel also has a great hand in producing the great and wise because hostel life gives practical training to a student in his mental, moral and spiritual development. Here the student is not under the supervision of his parents. He enjoys perfect independence and performs his duties in freedom. His habits become regular and mind is disciplined when he obeys the hostel rules and regulation.

“Often stepping outside your comfort zone is not careless irresponsibility, but a necessary act of obedience.” Andy Stanley

Hostel life is very colorful, charming and fascinating. It is a wonderful life of bliss, freedom, liberty ad learning. An atmosphere of competition prevails. Everyone is enchanted by the blissful atmosphere of the hostel. All kinds of young, sportive and energetic members from far and wide, belonging to different castes, colors, races and families stay here. Still they don’t feel any kind of estrangement rather they seem to be belonging to one family. There is always an atmosphere of happiness and enjoyment.

“Friends are family we choose for ourselves.” Edna Buchanan

The superintendent runs all the affairs of the hostel. He guides the student in matters of discipline. But his way of control is nominal i.e. less strict but friendlier. Still the students are afraid of him. The students elect their own prefect and two monitors who assist the superintendent in running the affairs and are responsible for discipline among students. In this way, students’ are taught management which creates a sense of responsibility in them.

“It’s nice to see how students respond to responsibility. One teacher noted that a student who would normally be a problem, in other situations was working with other students is trying to get them organized for one of the event.” Fred Rose

The students come to stay in a hostel from various parts of the country bringing with their own culture, traditions, language, dress, fashion, manners, habits and styles of living. They exchange their views and share their hardships and sympathies with one another. They learn how to help and cooperate with others and how to win other’s sympathies.

“The most important thing in life is the connections you make with others.” Tom Ford

Hostel has certain rules and regulations for the benefit of the students. There are fixed hours for eating, sleeping, studying and outing. No one dares violate them. If someone does so, it is at cost of his expulsion from the hostel and even the college. The serious and industrious students burn the mid-night oil to get good marks in the examination. The boarder is required to remain by the rules and regulations of the lodge. This is a fantabulous preparation in conduct and dimension. It prevents him from going astray and yielding to certain evil tendencies.

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” Him Rohn

There is also a dark aspect of hostel life. Sometimes, a number of naughty and mischievous ruffians come to stay at the hostel. Many of them idlers and sluggish fellows who have no serious aim to their lives. They do nothing but raise slogans and uproar at an ear splitting treble. A few of them keep their tape recorders on till late at night. Sometimes the boys clap hands, sing songs and befool every new comer. In this way, they pollute the scared atmosphere of the hostel and render it totally void of any pleasant thing.

“There are idlers that want to have money without working and fools who are ready to work without being rich.” Bernard Shaw

Sometimes the students become indifferent to their families. They contact their parents only for monthly allowance. They adopt strange types of fashions and frequently go to cinemas, theatres and clubs. Many times, they become drug-addicts and smokers. Sometimes, they take part in party politics and keep ammunition in their rooms and disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the hostel. But all these evils can be curbed and checked through strict discipline and healthy environments.

“All bad habits start slowly and gradually. And before you know you have the habit, the habit has you.”Zig Ziglar

Thus a hostel is a place where the students nourish their minds with the pleasure and terrors of practical life. If treated like a home, it becomes a home. And the memories one makes there, last forever.

“And in the end it is not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Place of Women in Society

“Women are the real architects of society.”

When God created Adam, he bestowed him with heaven. All the luxuries of life a man could possible imagine were at his beck and call. But Adam was still restless. So God created a woman. And the world got its colors.

“The portrait of the world is painted by the colors of a woman.”

What is a woman supposed to be? Who is a woman? What is her standard in society? For ages, these questions have been answered by men. The rights and needs of women were determined and decided by men. They decided that women were inferior to them. They concluded that all she deserved was food to thrive and a cloth to wear. They fixed that a woman was the breeding device offered by God. So they used her and threw her away. She was abused physically and emotionally. She was tormented and was expected to accept her circumstances. She was called the daughter of Satan and the root of all vices. Man used woman as a plaything at his parties. Women were the trophies of men with whom they did as desired. And for ages, the woman never complained.

“She smiles when she feels like screaming, and she sings when she feels like crying. She cries when she’s happy and laughs when she’s afraid. Her love is unconditional. There’s only one thing wrong with her. She forgets what she’s worth.”

She accepted her slavery. She confined herself to the four walls of the house. She devoted her life to her man and his children, both of whom treated her like a slave. She responded to every one’s desires but killed hers. She contented herself by believing that this was her purpose of life.

“A house where a woman is not safe is not a home.”

But then the era changed. And from some dark corner of her heart came a voice, “Stand up. It’s enough”. And then the woman stood and the world just gawked. From having the respect like that of a pest, she gained such power that men bowed before her. She found out her need in man. She discovered the consequences of her absence. She witnessed what her presence meant to the existence of mankind. So she took heart and snatched her rights from her oppressors.

“Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack.”

Today a woman may still be struggling for her status in this society, but she isn’t blind anymore. She maybe a slave or a queen. But she knows that she is not a toy. Today women have refused this slavery. The shackles of imprisonment and ignorance that once caged her heart are broken. She stood with her head held high in a male dominant world and she fought.

“The woman who doesn’t require validation is the most feared individual on the planet.”

Some women performed great feats. Such as Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen who fought hard to protect her country from the clutches of the Roman Empire. Mother Teresa fed and helped thousands of needy throughout the world. Marie Curie was the first woman ever to win the Nobel Prize and the first person ever to win the Nobel Prize in two categories. Margaret Thatcher was the acclaimed three time prime minister of the united kingdom. She was the first woman ever to hold that post. Princess Diana was champion of humanitarian causes. She shone a spotlight on those less fortunate. In Islam, the greatest example of a woman is Hazrat Khadija who became the pillar of support for the Prophet when he was alone. She is known as the mother of all Muslims.

“Stand up for yourself and your rights a human being. Life is more than just walking on eggshells.”

Thus women have fought long and hard for their rights. In many places of the world, the law has finally granted them with their respective rights. But unfortunately, the hearts of men have still not seen her as equal. This discrimination and hatred is still the cause of the abusive movements led against women. The top one being destroying her face with acid. Acid doesn’t not destroy her face only. It kills her identity. Its strips her of her natural beauty. It not only makes the world abhor her but also push her into the trenches of depression that lead to slavery. Women are sold as prostitutes. Girls are still forced into under aged marriages with older men. They are still trapped in four walls. Majority of women are still slaves to the desires of men.

“Abuse is not just about broken bones, bruises or black eyes but includes telling someone what to do, what to wear, who to see, constantly putting them down, making them do sexual acts they don’t want to do.”

But despite all the agony man inflicts on her when he needs comfort, it’s her he turns to. A woman is a beacon of warmth. And in the battle of survival that is today’s world, she is the reason man has not forgotten the essence of life.

“A woman has two smiles that an angel might envy. The smile that accepts a lover before words are uttered, and the smile that lights on the child and assures it of a mother’s love.”

A woman became a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother. She became the queen of her home. She gave life to mankind but more than that, she taught mankind the meaning of life. Man has busied himself in the rat race for power and money. He has lost himself so deeply in the pursuit of ultimate survival that he now exists rather than lives. A woman is like Thetis who held Achilles as he dived into the Styx. She is his anchor to life else he may get so lost in making a life, he might miss it.

“She is woman. She is mother, daughter, wife, sister. She is a person. She is strong, smart, passionate, and generous. She has hope, beauty, and power. She gives you life. She will nurture you, fight for you. She deserves nothing less from you.”

After becoming the queen of the home, she stepped outside. The harsh gusts of society thrashed her but she persevered. She kept walking forward and after the greatest struggle of humankind, she found her rightful place; beside man. Not underneath man but beside him. That is a woman’s place in society.

“A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman.”

Reading Books is a True Source of Knowledge

“Reading furnishes the mind with materials of knowledge.”

When God created angels, he bestowed them with infinite beauty and wisdom. But then he created the human being and made the angels bow before him. What did the human possess that urged the celestial beings to bow before him? Knowledge. God gave the angels boundless beauty and unbelievable abilities. But he blessed the human being with the treasure of knowledge.

“A book is a gift you can open again and again.”

A bunch of letters form a word. A bunch of words on a paper form a paragraph. A bunch of paragraphs jotted on papers culminate a book. God chose books to be His medium of eternal guidance to us. He created four divine books which guide us through the trenches of ignorance.

“If you truly want to escape the reality, all you have to do is open a book and your imagination.”

Today we live in the Golden era of the human civilization. We revel in bewildering luxuries. The world kisses our feet as we keep disclosing its secrets one after another. When this age of modernism commenced, the first assumption made regarding change was the disappearance of books. E-books and e-media was said to replace paperback form of books. In this presumed revolution, first the radio and then the television posed threat to the existence of books. But books survived the tempest of innovation and even today are serving as the key source of knowledge to us.

“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to t he mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

Reading books is the greatest pastime mankind has devised. Books cleanse our souls with wisdom. They bless our hearts with enlightenment. Books are written with blood and sweat. Books are written to be read. They are the message of our ancestors to us. They are the guidelines for our civilization to progress.

““The reading of good books is like conversation with the great men of past centuries.” Rene Descartes

Reading books holds many an advantages in it. The most important one is the procuring of knowledge and erudition. A books isn’t a mere collection of words bound together on paper. It is the portal to an infinite world of exploration.

“Reading gives us somewhere we can go when we have to stay where we are.”

Today we are constrained to our places, our jobs, our duties. We are bound by the shackles of responsibility. Our knowledge is limited to our respected fields. And then we pick up a book and we get lost in it. A book is not just a book but an experience. We journey to unimaginable places. We live several lives while flipping through the pages of a book.

“A reader dies several times. A man who doesn’t read dies once.”

When you read a book, you become a part of it. You experience every emotion every adventure as if you were living it. Books allow us to sit in a room with a cup of coffee in our hands yet discover the great minds of the past.

“I feel infinitely alive when curled up on a sofa reading a book.”

Books are the medium to understand the world without interacting with it. If we wish to learn about the marvels of the marine life, we need not dive into the ocean to explore it. We could just pick up a book and read about our inquiries. If the life on the heavenly bodies arouses our curiosity, we need not ride a rocket to outer space to understand it. Instead a book can quench our thirst for knowledge in a much easier and convenient way.

“A world opened to me when I learned to read.” Mary McLeod

Books are the greatest source of knowledge. But why? Because it is a collection of the thoughts, the ideas, the beliefs and the dreams of the writer. When we read a book, we are actually reading the mind of another human being. Books allow us a passage into the mind and heart of other people around us. We understand their point of views, their notions, their dreams. We view the world through their eyes when we read a book.

“Books aren’t made of pages and words. They are made of hopes, dreams and possibilities.”

Moreover, a book is the most reliable and ancient way of passing down knowledge. Our early ancestors passed down their wisdom by writing on camel skins, leaves and other such material. All of these inscriptions are the books that reveal to us the mysteries of that era.

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science cripple, thought and speculation at a standstill.” Barbara W. Tuchman

More than being a source of knowledge, books are the best companion a man can ask for. They give you good advice when you are feeling low. They make you smile. The words in books often reflect the happenings in our heart. Thus they help us discover not only the world around us but also the world inside us.

“We lose ourselves in books. We find ourselves in their too.”

But unfortunately today our reading constitutes of e-mails and chats only. We are void of knowledge and wisdom since we have stopped reading books. Today our conversations are not worthwhile. Instead of sharing valuable ideas and opinions that are nurtured by various books, we share gossip. The dwindling number of readers is a serious problem our world is facing. Our youth has lost the understanding of the real meaning of zeal and zest ever since they stopped reading.

“The man who doesn’t read books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” Mark Twain

In a nutshell, I would say that book reading is not a choice. It is a need. Every person must read to develop their minds and soul in a productive manner. There is no better way of understanding the world and its ways than reading a book.

“Books wash away from the soul all the dust of everyday life.”

My Last Day at College

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” Winnie the Pooh

Memories are like pearls that lay deep in the ocean of our memories. We often forget about then. But then one day we dive into the ocean and bring the treasure back to the surface. Who we are and what we will be depends on who we were. Many a times our past is painful and we wish to eliminate it from our lives but the truth is that we can’t. We may not know at that moment but once it passes, suddenly even the tears seem so precious. To live is to explore ourselves and our past is our memoir.

“We don’t remember the days. We remember the moments.“

My past is bejeweled with the sweet memories of my college life. A time of my life that came and passed by quicker than a gust of wind. I still remember how just a few day ago I was the nervous mervous at a new place and now I am leaving it behind.

“We started with a simple hello but ended with a complicated good-bye.”

My last day at college was a nostalgic experience for me. That day I woke early in the morning. I had already prepared my uniform yesterday. I put it on and stood before the mirror. The guy who looked behind was going to live his last day today. Today would be the last day of the college me. I softening wave of melancholy swept through me. I took my breakfast and rushed to catch the bus. My friends were all aboard on the nostalgia train like. We talked about all the monkey business we had pulled in the class and broke into fits of laughter. It seemed just like yesterday when Mark was caught impersonating the math’s teacher and Josh was asked to pose as a chicken but he refused saying that he could become a rooster only as the chicken was out of nature’s course for him. We all laughed. Even the teacher cracked a smile. But he got punished nonetheless.

“You get a strange feeling when you leave a place. It’s not just that you’ll miss the place and the people you are leaving behind but you’ll miss what you were at that moment. Because you will never be this way ever again.”

The bus reached the college. I looked at the building of my college and took a moment to take it all in. after all I had made some pretty delightful memories in this place. It’s been my haven for the past two years. But now I have to move on. I took a deep breath and entered the college for the last time before I have to exit from this golden era of my life.

“It’s sad but sometimes staring anew starts with goodbye.”

We reached the notice board. It was decorated with pictures of us. I smiled finding some cheeky acts caught by camera. The whole college was decorated with quotations of moving on and the pain of goodbye. Our juniors had already thrown us a pretty awesome farewell party last week. Even then the end didn’t seem so close but today its staring at us and we have no choice but to advance. The principal gathered us in the Big Hall. I remember how we used to call him The Demon Lord but today even he seemed like a father. I’ll miss him too. He addressed to us on the importance of hard work and respect. He reminded us that despite all the mischief we had pulled in the last two years, we had been the most respectful class the college had ever had. The students cheered at the praise.

“It may be hard but eventually you’ll find the good in goodbye.”

After the address, some high tea was arranged for us. I excused myself from the friends. I ambled across the corridors from where the monitors used to herd us back into class during intervals. A chuckled escaped from lips remembering how irritated the poor fellows. I entered my classroom. The chairs were still the same hard-to-sit-on ones but today they seemed so comfortable. I sat on my chair and memories rushed into my mind. The thought was almost gloomy that from now on the forty of us may never be together in the same room again.

“It’s not the goodbye that hurts but the flashbacks that follow.”

I sauntered across the gardens. The gardener had planted lemon plants on my persistent request. I touched the leaves. They were growing nicely. I glanced at the entire building and I knew that I won’t let go of this place ever. This place was more than a college. It was our home. Our safe haven. It may forget us. Years will follow and we will be like dreams. But for us, it will always shine in the firmament of our memories as the most shining star.

“The only time goodbye hurts is when you know you’ll never say hello again.”

I was so lost in the trance, I didn’t realize that time was up. My time was up. I took heavy steps towards the gate. I spared one final glance and stepped outside. My last day of college had ended.

“I have learned that goodbyes always hurt, pictures don’t replace being there, memories good or bad will always bring tears and words can never replace those feelings.”

My First Day at College

“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we were just having fun.”

Sweet memories are like sweet-smelling flowers strewn on the strenuous path of life. Though they change life into a blooming and balmy garden, the genuine wisdom is usually showered on us from the dark clouds of painful past.

“Sweet is the memory of past troubles.” Marcus Tillius Cicero

My first day of college was marked with nervousness, excitement and fear. It was a bright sunny morning of sweet-smelling spring. I with my friends was on my way to a new world of freedom and learning. We were all wearing white suits. We were swelled with great pride. We were talking noisily, singing joyfully and walking vividly.

“Think positive. Be positive. And positive things will happen.”

When we were just a furlong off the college premises, we saw some students rushing out of the college gate. They looked horrified. I stopped one of them and asked him the reason of his fear. Our joy and pride vanished in a trice when he told us that a group of senior students was waiting for the new comers to make them first year fools. He added that they were holding wreathes of worn out shoes, tattered shirts, insulting placards and other such equipment. As soon as we heard about this socking situation our jubilant faces turned pale.

“Fear. A dark room where negatives are developed.”

We were stunned and dumbfounded. We stuck to the ground as if the magnetic power of earth had paralyzed us from toe to top. We almost convinced each other to succumb and turn to our heels.

“You are going to want to give up. Don’t.”

All of a sudden, a professor appeared like a sudden surge of grace. We told him about the grim situation. He smiled and encouraged us to turn the corner bravely. He escorted us to the college. As soon as we were alone a group of senior students happened to come there. They took full advantage of that opportunity and herded us like cattle into the middle of the playground. One of them ordered me to put on a tattered shirt. All eyes were on me.

“A single feat of the daring can change the whole concept of what is possible.” Graham Greenie

I was always the one who faced troubles with mettle and heart. I looked at the ruffians and decided that if I bowed down today, I won’t be able to hold my neck up tomorrow. I could not bear my humiliation. I looked them in the eye and flatly refused to comply. My refusal took them aback. They were greatly shocked. One of them, a corpulent midget, ordered me in a gruff manner to surrender calmly or I shall pay the price. I couldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t scared. For my knees were shaking and I almost couldn’t hear my own voice over the pounding of my heart. But I didn’t back down.

“Courage is not the absence of fear but the acquired ability to move beyond a fear.” Ambrose Redmoon

Seeing me hold my ground, a few of my fellows followed suit. They came up behind me and in a minutes, we had turned the tables. The seniors were outraged by the turn of events. One of them tried to grab one of my fellows but he took off like a bullet. Seizing the opportunity, we all raced in the opposite direction. But as fate drags the ill-starred, our path ended at the brim of a field that was soggy with irrigation. We paused for a moment. The chasing party was almost onto us.

“Fear. Forget Everything And Run. OR Face Everything And Rise.”

We decided to push our lucks a bit. We all moved back into the soggy field a bid. When the herd of seniors over took us, we rushed to the hard ground on the other side. The seniors didn’t anticipate the ground to be so mushy. One by one they all lost their balance and slipped into the sodden field. Their uniforms were decoration with splashes of mud all over. They looked like an abstract work of art. The fear was nowhere to be found anymore. We all broke into fits of laughter.

“Everything is funny as long as it’s happening to somebody else.” Will Rogers

The drenched seniors glared at us but were unable to go anything in their tousled situation. My friends patted my back and praised my courage. I was cheered as the hero of the day. In a huddle, we all went inside. The news of the incident had reached the professors as well. All were cracking up seeing the embarrassed seniors.

“There is nothing worth the wear of winning but laughter and love of friends.” Hillarie Belloc

We were handed our timetables and roll numbers. We found our classes. The principal addressed to us all in the Big Hall. He iterated and emphasized on the importance of hard work and respect. His words warmed our hearts and encouraged us to work for our ambitions.

“Work for the future if you want to have one.”

The bell rang and the day finally concluded. In a nutshell, I would say that my first day at college revealed to me my own courage. I was proud that I didn’t yield. It was fun and fearsome in its own way. I patched up with my seniors in the days that followed. That day still makes me smile when I remember it.

“I love those pleasant memories that make me laugh no matter what is going on in my life right now.”

A Road Accident

“Accidents happen no matter how careful you are.”

An accident can be defined as “a sudden detrimental happening not necessarily but mostly triggered by human recklessness, violation the immutable nature laws.” Life is uncertain, fleeting and unpredictable in its nature. Man is exceedingly conscious to adopt adequate measures for his security and safety. But in spite of his efforts and struggle, he cannot escape from the clutches of Nature, red in tooth and claw. Thousands of people lose their precious lives in these accidents. Perhaps this surging stream of human blood is not enough to satiate the unquenchable thirst of furious fate. As Shakespeare says:

As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, They kill us for their sport.

Roadside accidents have become very common occurrences of the present day life. The newspapers daily carry tragic news of fatal accidents. There is no doubt about the gift the modern advanced civilization. The modern age has given us fast modes of transport which have not only made the journey fast and easy but also increased the ratio of horrible accidents. These accidents occur due to the careless and reckless driving of the unlettered and untrained drivers, bad conditions of roads, narrow and risky turnings, violation of traffic rules and corruption in the traffic police. They take a heavy toll of lives rendering many others crippled for life and cause huge loss to property. I also happened to be an unfortunate witness to such a fatal accident.

“Misfortune never knocks at the door.”

Last month, I had to head for Multan. Reaching the coach terminal, I got into a long queue awaiting tickets. Luckily I got air-conditioned automobile with comfortable seat as the biggest advantage. The coach was full to its capacity. All the passengers were in gay mood and were chatting happily. The driver did not seem veteran. His overtaking seemed hesitant and his moves were a bit reckless. However being passengers, none of us deemed it proper to him any sort of instruction. When we were only ten miles from the city, we met an unexpected horrible accident.

“What is meant to happen will happen. You cannot change it.”

A car overtook our bus and vanished in a flash. It raised clouds of dust. The bus driver was in carefree mood. A truck was coming from the opposite direction. The bus and the truck driver could see nothing in the thick clouds of dust. The next moment, there was head on collision. After colliding with the truck, the bus struck a cart standing on the roadside. Then it crushed a cyclist and turned turtle into a ditch.

“Accidents hurt. Safety doesn’t.”

The accident was very horrible and fatal in its nature. Most of the screens of the bus were broken. Most of the passengers received severe injuries and were bleeding. It was a tragic scene. There was a great hue and cry. The pick-pockets availed themselves of the opportunity and robbed most of the passengers of their money and valuables. Every passenger was in a hurry to get out of the bus. In this rush, a few women and children were crushed to death. I got some skin injuries. But I didn’t care for my injuries and began to help the people.

“The day you help someone before helping yourself, you become a human.”

The cart and the cyclist were crushed to death. Both of them belonged to the neighboring village. Many people in the vicinities reached for our rescue. They also began to get the dead and injured out of the bus. There was great moaning, sobbing, whimpering and sighing with very few to console. The bus driver had joined the majority on the spot. The conductor succeeded in escaping leaving injured party at the mercy of Allah. Someone contacted 1122 on the mobile. A police party with a doctor reached there in five minutes. The doctor began to give first aid to injured. Most of the injured were advised to shift to the hospital.

“There is no such thing as safety. It is a word created to soothe us.”

The tragic sight of a woman passenger filled me with pity and horror. She was a widow with one son of five years who had joined the majority. His lifeless pure, innocent body lay on the ground; bathing in the pool of blood. The woman was raising loud screams and calling on her son with his nickname. She was beseeching her son to talk to her for once. But he was past all these cries and sympathies and taken to the hospital. The cries of the woman still echo in my ears.

“I have lived a nightmare. Nothing scares me anymore.”

I saw the police recording the statements of the eye-witnesses of the fatal accident. I postponed my program of heading for Multan, boarded another bus and returned home sadder than ever before. I shall never be able to forget what I had witnessed especially the poor widow with her dead son. The terrible incident has left a dreadful impact on my mind which will haunt me for long.

“I wish I could forget the past. Some memories hurt way too much.”

My Hobby

“ Today is the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. ”

In this age of modernism, worries and anxieties, man remains busy from dawn to dusk. After his day’s rat race, he wants to relax and restore himself; and soothe his taut nerves. If he doesn’t do so, his life becomes dull and gloomy and he himself becomes peevish.

William Davies mourns such a way of man’s life in this way:-

“What is this life if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.”

Ordinary remedies prescribed for the avoidance from the worry and mental overstrain fall into two broad categories- gaiety and retreat. The object of both is to strengthen the tired parts of the mind by giving them rest. But there is a third method of achieving the same objective. It is done by using the remaining parts of the mind- those other than the tired ones. This method of restoration comes to be known as a hobby. A hobby is a work which we do in our spare time not for money but solely for recreation and relaxation. It is an alternative occupation for the brain worker to restore its psychic equilibrium.

“In our leisure, we reveal what kind of people we are.”

Different people peruse different hobbies according to their tastes and inclination. Hobbies such as fishing, boating, small games and hunting can be classed as being exclusive for men. Hobbies like knitting, needlework, interior decoration are usually taken up by women.

“Happy is the man who is living by his hobby.” Bernard Shaw

After the day’s drudgery, I also seek a hobby. My hobby happens to be writing. Although it’s a fairly common hobby, people still find writing as a hobby pretty queer. A hobby is supposed to be relaxation while writing is considered an arduous task. But for me, writing brings the most pleasure.

“Writing is the painting of the voice.” Voltaire

Words are an ephemeral escape to my own little fantasy. I live in a world beyond reality. I create life and I devise its way. I mimic an umpteenth ounce of Godly power. When I write, I own my creations. I relish something far beyond an ordinary man when I put lives into my letters. I witness my words grow into fantasies and those fantasies end as utopias. I experience every sentiment that my characters go through. I live their lives. I die with them.

“A reader dies a thousand times. A man who doesn’t read dies once.”

Often it happens that I come home and I am frustrated, exasperated and angry. Instead of shouting and crying, I grab my laptop and a chair. I don’t waste my reared up emotions, instead I use them as the instigators of a new story. I write out my frustrations. I write and write until what I am saying starts making sense. After my fit is over, I read aloud the crazy business. Often the end result of my work is either hilariously ridiculous or wondrously amazing.

“We write to taste life twice. In the moment and in retrospect.”

Writing pleases me because it gives me a channel to truly become who I am. I write stories of different characters but all of those characters have one thing in common; my feelings and my thoughts. My emotions are largely expressed in my work.

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his minds is written largely in his works.” Virginia Woolf

I started writing when I was quite little. When other kids used to play, I would be bent over a paper. That silly little obsession became a hobby. It expanded my mind. It urged me to explore myself. I would sit and ponder about the world around me. And then I would write it down.

“Writing is easy. You just cross out the wrong words.” Mark Twain

What’s truly amazing about writing is its magic. Creating something that has never existed before is as close as human beings get to miracles. Every word is magic; every story is a new universe. I create those universes and I get to explore them. Creating new universes help me understand the world I reside in.

“I write my way into another universe.”

My writing is precious to me. I don’t just casually throw words around. My entire day revolves around the time I sit down with my laptop. Studying is important but it only teaches you what others found. Reading is fun too but it restricts you to what the writer wants you to know. Writing, however, liberates you of all restrictions. You have the freedom of speech. You can say whatever you want. What you believe is what appears on your paper. Reading is gaining knowledge. Writing is exploring that knowledge.

“For humanity to survive, we must tell stories.”

Someone once said,

“Make the first thing you love, your hobby. And the second thing, your job.”

These are the wisest words I have heard. I chose to follow them and brought myself peace of mind. I calmed down my inner frustrations. Being a Muslim woman, I am mostly confined in four walls. But when I write, I am free. I can go out and be what I want to be rather than what people make me be. This freedom is what makes my words so precious and invaluable to me. My little secrets. My little truths. Purely me.

“There is nothing wrong or write. Just write.”

When I write I am heard. My paper hears me. The sound of the pen rubbing against the paper, that smell of paper, is the real pleasure in my life.

“Sometimes only the paper hears.”

Thus I would say that my toil and labour is balanced out by the peace I find in my writing. I will keep on writing until I run out of words to say. I hope that day never comes. For I know, as long as I am alive, I’ll think, I’ll ponder and I’ll write.

“You fill the paper with the breathing of your heart.” William Wordsworth

My Hero in History

“When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she had always been. But she had wings.” Dean Jackson

When the deterioration and decline of a nation reach their extreme, and nothing but supplications are left to resort to, Allah produced in it such man as with their extraordinary potential and untiring efforts change the destiny of that downtrodden nation. Such people in history are called great men. That is why love for great men is quote innate to man because history is determined by them.

“To believe in the heroic, makes heroes.” Benjamin Disraeli

Great men are not born daily. Humanity has to wait for centuries. Such men change the course of events and provide to new channels to history. Their lives inspire us to do great deeds.

“The lives of great men, all remind us, That we can make our lives sublime.”

A hero is a man of high personality with exemplary character. He has great courage and the guts to lead others to their ultimate destiny despite whatsoever grave difficulties may hinder his way to success. He has sterling qualities of heart and mind, unparallel vigor, matchless genius and unique talent.

“I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.” Maya Angelou

History is replete with great leaders of marvelous achievements. I am charmed by the towering personality of Alama Muhammad Iqbal. He was one of the greatest and most respected literary figures of the 20th century. He placed a vital role in the political history of the pre-partitioned India.

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Joseph Campbell

It was the historic day of 9th November, 1877 when Alama Muhammad Iqbal was born in Sialkot. He came of a sound religious family. His father Sheikh Noor Muhammad was a mystic. After the accomplishment of his primary education in his native city, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge brought him to Lahore. He did his M.A. in philosophy there. Actually it was Professor Arnold who infused in him the quest for philosophy; he detected his hidden qualities and advised him to develop his poetic talent.

“Inside everyman there is a poet. Poets are born, not made.” Stephanie Kenfer

Iqbal went abroad for higher education. He did PhD and returned home. It was the time when the British ruled the subcontinent The English with all their craftiness and trickery were making utmost efforts to confine the Muslims to the stinking cages of slavery and ignorance. Iqbal, whose heart was ever throbbing for the service of his oppressed nation, endeavored to infuse a new spirit in the dormant and sluggish soul of the Muslims.

“A poet’s work is to name the unnamable, to pint at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world and stop it from going to sleep.” Selman Rushdie

Through his lofty verses he embarked upon an auspicious mission that was the freedom of his nation from the yoke of the atrocious nation, the British. He not only inculcated an indomitable fervor in the indolent outlook of the Muslims, but also his inspiring epistles urged Muhammad Ali Jinnah to struggle for freedom of Indian Muslims. Jinnah morphed Iqbal’s dream into reality. But unfortunately e didn’t live long enough to see it come true. Iqbal died on April 21st, 1938.

“He did what heroes do after their work is accomplished, he died.” Leo Tolstoy

In annual session of the Muslim League in Allahabad in 1940, he obviously manifested the solution to the discontent of India. He pointed out that the status of the Muslims is distinct and separate from those of other nations. He demanded the establishment of a separate Muslim nation for the Muslims of the subcontinent. At that time, Pakistan was called the dream of a poet or a mad man.

“Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing up alone.”

It is an undeniable fact that his heroic and philosophical poetry has won him the title of “The Poet of The East.” In this respect, he can be compared with Milton and Wordsworth who are also “laureate: poets of their nation. His poetry has an irresistible urge for national sentiments.

“A poet is a nightingale whose its in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet songs.” P.B.Shelley

His lofty verses, noble poetic instances and melodious songs for children and religious poetry have won him immortal fame placing him amongst the brightest constellations of immortal poets in the firmament of poetry.

“The poet begins where the man ends. The man’s lot is to live his human life. The poet’s to invent what is non-existent.” Jose Ortega

In this age when the Muslims are dishonored and slaughtered everywhere, it is a pressing need that we should get guidance and inspiration from the message of Iqbal’s poetry. Iqbal has persistently urged the Muslims to ponder over the heroic achievements of their ancestors and follow their suit. May the Muslims of this Millennium be inspired by the illuminated thoughts of his poetry!

“Poets are the sense, philosopher the intelligence of humanity.” Samuel Becket